Case studies. Real figures, and who did each part.
S3 projects set out in a standard record: sector, grade, challenge, what S3 did, result and who implemented it. S3 provides the technical design and the tender documents; the installation is carried out by the company the client chooses.
Results from S3 projects. Client identities are confidential. Each figure belongs to that project; it is not a forecast.
Case 01 · Design and tender
−22%
in cost against the initial budget
One Grade 3 design. Three comparable bids.
Sector
Industry.
Grade
Grade 3.
Challenge
Putting the CCTV, intrusion and access control for a site with multiple entrances and shifts out to tender with three installers, with bids that could be compared like for like.
What S3 did
The technical design and the tender documents.
Result
Three bids against the same design. Comparing them on that basis cut the cost by 22% against the initial budget.
Implemented by
The installer selected by the client.
A figure from this project, measured against its initial budget. It is not a forecast for any other tender.
What lies behind each figure
The starting point is a common one. What changed the outcome was a decision taken before implementation.
Typical failure
Requesting bids without a common design. Each installer sets its own scope, brand and sizing, and the prices cannot be compared: the cheapest may be the system that covers least.
In case 01
The three installers bid against the same technical design and the same tender documents. Comparing bids against a single design cut the cost by 22%.
How we present case studies
Three rules that apply to every record on this page.
Clients without names
Client identities are confidential. The records include no details that would identify the site: no name, location, drawings or equipment. In physical security, describing an installation hands information to anyone who wants to get round it.
Project figures, not promises
Each figure belongs to one project and is measured against its own reference; in case 01, the initial budget. Another site starts from a different risk, scope and set of bids. We do not carry these figures over into a proposal.
Each part, with its owner
The record separates what S3 did from what another company implemented. S3 designs, specifies, audits and supervises. Installation, connection to an alarm receiving centre (ARC), the regulatory installation design and the certificate are the responsibility of the licensed security company the client chooses.
Designs and audits S3
Implements the installer the client chooses
Decides the client
Questions
Why are client names not shown?
Because client identities are confidential. The records include no details that would identify the site: no name, location, drawings or equipment.
Will my tender also come in 22% lower?
It is not a forecast. It is the figure from that project, measured against its initial budget. The outcome of another tender depends on the risk, the scope and the bids received. What can be repeated is the method: every bid responds to the same design.
Did S3 install the systems?
No. The work was carried out by the installer selected by the client. S3 produced the technical design and the tender documents.
Going out to tender? Let's start with the scope.
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